Surprise Cuts, Surprise Keeps

The Washington Football Team will reappear on the 27th of July for Training Camp in Richmond, VA.

OTAs and minicamp were predominantly drama free, with minor injury concerns for WR acquisition Curtis Samuel (groin) and some talk of a still troubling Turf Toe for second-year RB Antonio Gibson.

Gibson was, however, going at full pelt and Samuel will likely return for training camp as both bid to build chemistry with new QB Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Fitzpatrick might just be in a legitimate QB battle with last season’s gallant play-off QB Taylor Heinicke. The latter had an impressive minicamp and will be putting pressure on the 38-year-old veteran.

Here at UKHTTW, we thought we would pose a question of two guys who might be a surprise to make the roster, and two who find themselves missing out.

First up, Tony Wheat of Full Press Coverage with his surprise cuts:

Landon Collins (LB)

Now, this is highly unlikely and would be a big surprise, but it is not completely impossible.

Collins is still not 100% healthy from his Achilles tear and remains to be seen if he will be a full go for training camp. The arrival of Bobby McCain as a true free safety and the fact that rookie Darrick Forrest can play both free and strong safety makes it possible that should Ron Rivera decide that Kam Curl is the best option at Strong Safety, Collins could possibly be on the outside looking in.

His cap hit is an issue at $16.3 million of dead money, but pre-June 1st that figure was $26.3 million, so whilst not being ideal, it is not as bad as it could have been. It is more likely that Collins remains this season and is let go before 2022 when the cap hit potentially drops to $4 million post June 1st.

It is unlikely, but not beyond the realms of possibility that Rivera will choose to go with a cheaper, more youthful safety group. Would it be a surprise? Yes, of course, but that is the point of the exercise here!

Peyton Barber (RB)

Barber did a solid, unspectacular job in short yardage situations last year and would always get you a yard on 3rd and 1.

The problem is he would also only get you a yard on 3rd and 2 or 3, so had a very limited role. It is feasible that Antonio Gibson could pick up those 3 or 4 carries a game and another back could make the roster who provides more of an all-round threat (no spoilers here!).

Rivera certainly values Barber’s ability to churn out the hard yards and accept that as his role and nothing more. The argument can be made that it is not the best use of a roster spot, and although Washington’s running back room isn’t the strongest, Barber could find himself the odd man out, particularly if they pick up a veteran between now and week 1.

And Tony continues with two who will be a surprise on the final 53

Jaret Patterson

Coming in as an undrafted free agent, Patterson has made a positive impression in OTA’s and minicamp.

Ron Rivera has been impressed by his ability to catch balls out of the backfield, an aspect of his game that was not widely lauded coming out of college in Buffalo, which combined with the compact, physical running style that brushes through arm tackles as if they’re not there, makes for an intriguing combination.

He could potentially be a short yardage threat with his bowling ball, tackle breaking ability and if he is able to develop as a pass catcher, he may be able to cover both Gibson and McKissic.

At the very least, Washington will be hoping to get him through to the practice squad.

Troy Apke

Now, I will admit, I was struggling for a second player here, so you may have to indulge me.

To most people, Apke is gone. A disaster at Free Safety last year with his terrible angles and awareness leading to multiple big plays, Apke has failed to develop at all during his 3 years on the team.

However, so far this offseason, he has been playing Corner. Granted, this is a last throw of the dice by Rivera who seems keen to utilise his 4.3 speed somewhere. Reports so far have been mixed, which is perhaps being polite, but Apke is a key special teamer on the coverage units and if he can show even the remotest ability to cover, he may scrape onto the roster. Do not quote me on it though!

Christian Burt, UKHTTW founder looks at a duo who surprisingly do not make the roster

Landon Collins

Tony has this spot-on as a major surprise, but I agree for the following reasons (despite the cap hit).

Every time the media, and fan talk, turns to Landon Collins, it goes this way 99/100 – “Landon will instead be cut in 2022 when the dead money is far less of a hit”.

But let us think about this. Head Coach Rivera will not, realistically, be expecting the WFT to be Superbowl contenders in 2021. The days of Bruce Allen are long gone, when a splashy free agent was wheeled out as the missing piece to complement a “damn good culture”. Rivera wants position flexibility, and he wants his roster to be made up of his type of football players.

If we are all pretty sure that Landon will be gone in 2022, then why waste time. Collins, understandably, showed little enthusiasm for a move to LB and is there any real value in keeping a guy around to play second fiddle to a young talent such as Kamren Curl?

Adam Humphries (WR)

The WR unit will be one of the most competitive going into camp.

Adam has a dead cap of just $150k and has missed 15 games with injuries with the Titans over the past 2 seasons, including the playoffs.

Why would this be a surprise cut then? Well, Adam was signed by the current front office and has a familiarity with Fitzpatrick. For many he is seen as the guaranteed specialist slot receiver.

Are the Washington Football Team going to be that dedicated to Humphries purely as a safety blanket for Fitzpatrick? My guess is no.

And Christian reveals his two surprise guys who make the 53

Steven Sims Jr (WR)

Was Sims Jr frustrating in 2020? Undoubtedly so.

But Sims Jr is a good four years younger than the aforementioned Humphries and if he can cure some of those drops, the WFT could do well to keep #15 around. An end zone touchdown of executed beauty in the play-off loss vs Tampa Bay should be a reminder of the speed off the line and talent that Sims Jr possesses.

However, Rivera and staff might also be swayed by the decidedly lacklustre, in fact disastrous, kick return play from Sims Jr last season.

My guess is that they keep faith with a guy who still has tremendous upside and offers just that little more than a pure slot receiver.

Antonio Gandy-Golden (WR)

I am not sure this can actually count as a surprise given this is a WR drafted by the current front office, but AGG did not do much at all in 2020 that would justify a roster position in a competitive group.

However, Gandy-Golden was a fourth-round draft pick in 2020 and came from a small school in Liberty. The coaching staff would not, therefore, have viewed Antonio as an immediate impact player in the National Football League, but instead a natural catch radius talent who will slowly evolve into more than the jump ball specialist that he was projected as by some draft experts.

Gandy-Golden will be one of a talented group of six WRs who make the roster, behind Terry McLaurin, Curtis Samuel, Dyami Brown, Steven Sims Jr and Cam Sims. But I expect as we will see more of AGG as the season progresses and as a red zone threat, although he might well be the biggest project player who makes the cut.